Blog: The Account Manager's role in providing customer support
Andy Clark, Account Manager
Each day is different in the life of an Account Manager at Vizzion, but one thing that remains constant is our commitment to ensuring customer support requests are responded to efficiently and effectively. As Vizzion sources road imagery from 40 countries and 65,000 cameras worldwide and has customers located around the world, we are available 24/7 to help, so even my fellow Aussies are taken care of. We have a dedicated support email, support@vizzion.com, which distributes to all Vizzion staff so customers can be assured that they will be looked after, even if their Account Manager is unable to respond in a timely manner. We also have an alert system to ensure someone is always notified to respond to any urgent requests no matter the time of day.
Vizzion's Service Monitor automatically detects and alerts engineers to out of service cameras.
When a support request comes in my first step is always to ensure the customer is aware we have received the request and that we are working on finding a solution. From transportation agencies supplying faulty camera feeds, to helping with the installation of our turnkey Desktop Video Wall, we have internal procedures in place each time a support issue comes in to ensure they are resolved efficiently and effectively. In my role I am always looking to learn from each new issue to help improve our processes, so I document each individual case from the initial request to the resolution so we can later analyze what worked and what we could do better next time.
Product and Account Managers work together to find solutions more efficiently.
A big part of my customer support role is discovering where the issue lies and finding a solution. Some issues, such as camera feeds going out from the DOT, are outside of our control, but we will reach out on behalf of our customers to seek answers and provide potential workarounds for each problem. We place a great deal of importance on building strong partnerships with over 200 different transportation agencies worldwide, but we always set the expectation when communicating with our clients that dealing with public sector agencies can be a slow process when seeking answers. In the longer term, we use lessons from these issues to build new features in our service that help smooth out issues from the DOT such as automatically detecting out of service cameras and removing them from our feed. In my role, I advocate on behalf of the customer for what features will best improve their experience.
One major benefit our customers receive when working with us over a larger corporation is the ability to connect to our engineering team and management, whether it be directly through our support email or through an Account Manager like myself. I’m able to bring the lead engineer or relevant Product Manager into customer calls which allows for efficient lines of communication and clear answers to any technical support issues. Unlike other organizations, we provide detailed Service Level Agreements that outline our service classifications and response procedures and times, so our customers know what to expect and understand that we are confident in our service and back our quality service levels.
Software Engineers working on a solution to a customer support request.
At Vizzion, customers can be assured that their questions are being answered by the right team member, and as an Account Manager my role is to facilitate internal communication between departments to ensure the issue is progressing and is resolved completely to the customer’s satisfaction. It’s definitely a fast-paced job and I am continuing to learn more about technical solutions each day, but the most rewarding aspect of my job is resolving issues and hearing that our users are satisfied with our service. I am proud to be part of a company that places customer support as the highest priority and will be sure to continue doing so.
About Vizzion
Vizzion is the leading provider of road imagery for traffic, weather, road condition, and safety operations and applications. Through partnerships with over 200 different transport agencies and on-vehicle camera providers, Vizzion offers live feeds from over 100,000 cameras in 40 countries across North America, Europe, Asia, Australasia, and key markets in South America and Africa. Both on-vehicle and roadside traffic camera services are available through Vizzion’s flexible API and turnkey Video Wall application. Vizzion’s content is trusted by major apps, map providers, broadcasters, fleets, and automotive organizations. Contact busdev@vizzion.com for more information.